The Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol that defines the addressing of packets of information that can be transmitted over the Internet. Generally, the Internet Protocol establishes the nature and length of the packets and provides addressing information used by the various switches and routers to direct each individual packet to its intended destination. Voice Over IP (VOIP) is the technology used to transmit voice messages over a data network using the Internet Protocol.
With the evolution of the Internet has come a wave of technology that can be used to carry voice information in packetized form using the Internet Protocol (IP). Several services have been established commercially to provide such communication using the Internet and/or commercial networks as a vehicle to provide free or reduced price telephone service. Such service is attractive since it permits management of a single data network to handle both voice and data. Moreover, since the voice and data are integrated within a single network using a single protocol, additional features and services have been contemplated. Unfortunately, many obstacles have presented themselves to providing quality service using VOIP over the conventional wired Internet. Much of the problem relates to a user's low tolerance for delay in voice communication.
With the boom in popularity of cellular telephone communication, and the expansion in functionality of cellular telephones to act as terminal devices for utilizing services of the Internet, there is also a desire to achieving real time speech quality utilizing VOIP within a cellular telephone system. This environment also presents challenges due to a low tolerance for delay of speech signals and variation in signal strength. If too much delay is encountered, the speech output may sound disjointed and unnatural and perhaps even unintelligible. Such delays become a greater problem as traffic loading on the wireless network increases. Contention for the available bandwidth can be reduced by minimizing traffic loading on the network to assure that there are no delays in broadcasting of voice packets, but this, of course, wastes valuable bandwidth, that is more cost effective when nearly fully utilized.